Q: Who is the Program designed for?
A: The Program is designed for people who want to conduct high-level research in one of the three research focus areas:

Applied Linguistics (particularly for those who are interested in English language teaching or English for specific purposes)

Intercultural Communication (particularly for those who work for international organizations or multinational companies or those with
a need to communicate effectively in an international environment)

Literary Studies (particularly for those who want to gain new insights into literary studies such as language and style, language and voice, and applications of literary studies on translation and language creativity)

Q: Is it a weekday or weekend program?

A: It’s a weekend program. Classes are on Saturdays and Sundays at Thammasat Tha Prachan campus.

Q: Who are the lecturers in this Program?

A: Most of the faculty members and thesis supervisors are full-time lecturers in the English Department (see their academic profiles on the main page). Some guest lecturers from other departments or institutions may be invited to teach or give lectures on specialised topics. We also invite lecturers who are internationally recognised to teach whole courses or to give special lectures.

Q: How much is the fee?

A: The total expense is about 220,000 baht for the M.A. (Thesis); about 200,000 baht for the M.A. (Independent Study); about 666,000 baht for the M.A. continuing to Ph.D.; and about 550,000 baht for the Ph.D

Q: Are there any grants or scholarships given to students?

A: There is no full scholarship, but the Program offers partial funding in the form of a grant (about 20,000 baht a year) for students to attend and/or present academic papers home or abroad.

Questions about admission/ curriculum/ study plan

Q: What are the required qualifications to be admitted to the Program?

A: For M.A./ M.A. continuing to Ph.D.
1. A Bachelor’s degree in any field with the minimum GPA of 2.50 for M.A. and 3.5 for M.A. Continuing to Ph.D.
2. Strong command of English (see details of the required English test scores on the homepage) (*those who studied in an international program in Thailand or abroad do not need to present the test scores to gain admission to the program, however there is a university requirement that all students present test scores prior to graduation)

For Ph.D. Program
1. A Master’s degree in any field with the minimum GPA of 3.25
2. Strong command of English (see details of the required English test scores on the homepage) (*those who studied in an international program in Thailand or abroad do not need to present the test scores to gain admission to the program, however there is a university requirement that all students present test scores prior to graduation)

Q: My English test exam is scheduled after the application deadline. Can I submit the result later?

A: Yes. We accept proof of English language proficiency until 15 March 2011.

Q: I'm a native speaker of English. Do I still need to present the English test score?

A: Yes. This is in accordance with the university's regulation.

Q: I graduated from a program where English was used as medium of instruction. Do I still need to present the English test score?

A: Yes. This is in accordance with the university's regulation.

Q: If my English score is only slightly below the required score, can I be admitted first and then take some foundation or remedial English courses later?

A: No, you can’t. Some graduate programs at Thammasat do allow students to take some graduate English courses to make up for the score deficit, but as we are an international program in English language studies, we cannot use this procedure.

Q: Do I have to specify the admission types (e.g. M.A. / M.A.-Ph.D./ Ph.D.) on the application form?

A: If you apply for the M.A., you have to indicate whether you want to apply for M.A. only or M.A. with an option to continue to Ph.D. If you plan to study for M.A. only, you have to choose between M.A. thesis and M.A. Independent Study (although decision can be firmly made towards the end of the first academic year as students in both plans take the same core courses in the first year). If you choose M.A. with an option to continue to Ph.D., you automatically choose M.A. Thesis Plan. Those who initially choose M.A. only in the Thesis Plan may eventually switch to the M.A.-Ph.D. mode but the decision needs to be made at the end of the first academic year before taking the Ph.D. assessment exam). If you have already obtained an M.A., you can choose to study for a Ph.D. only.

Q: Do I have to specify the tracks of study (e.g. applied linguistics, intercultural communication, literary studies) on the application form? Can I change it later?

A: Yes, we ask you to indicate your research interest on the application form to give us some ideas about your research direction, but it can be changed. Our M.A. and Ph.D. core courses would cover all of the three areas. When you choose elective courses, you may take courses from one particular track, or courses from different tracks. However, you have to be more focused when you plan for your thesis or independent study.

Q: If I write a Ph.D. research proposal on one track at the time of application, can I change the research focus when I actually write a proper proposal for my proposal defense later on?

A: Yes, but it is unlikely. Usually Ph.D. candidates would have a clear idea about their research focus, although the proposal written as part of the application process may be rather tentative and it can be developed to have clearer research questions and methodologies at the time of proposal defense.

Q: How does the ‘M.A. with an option to continue to Ph.D.’ work? Is it a continuing program?

A: This is a unique study plan. M.A. students who wish to continue to the Ph.D. Program must choose the Thesis Plan, and at the end of the third semester will be required to pass a Ph.D. assessment exam. Those who are successful can start their Ph.D. in the fourth semester without having to complete an M.A. thesis. The total study period for this type of students is 11 semesters (See Study Plan on the Ph.D. curriculum link on the main webpage)

Q: What would happen if I did not pass the Ph.D. assessment exam?

A: If you did not pass the assessment test, you would just continue your study as an M.A. student. Complete your M.A. thesis and graduate with an M.A.

Q: Why do M.A. and Ph.D. electives have the same titles and descriptions?

A: Because they are the same courses. These courses are effectively ‘postgraduate electives’ because they can be chosen by either M.A. or some Ph.D. students. M.A. thesis students take 3 courses out of these, and M.A. Independent Study students take 5 courses. Ph.D. students who do not come through our M.A. Program are required to take two of these courses. We do this because we wish to ensure that PhD students who have not studied for an M.A. with us have a good grounding in their research area of interest. So it is possible that in some of these elective courses, there will be both M.A. and some Ph.D. students in the class.

Q: I am worried about my Ph.D. proposal, can you help me with it?

A: We assess the Ph.D. proposals, so it would not be ethical for us to help you with it. We do provide an example proposal to help you. Actually, experience shows that in the course of studying for a Ph.D. the precise research question/s change/s a great deal as your depth of knowledge increases and you pursue different lines of inquiry into the subject, so your final Ph.D. may turn out to be very different from your proposal. At this stage, we are most interested in seeing the following in your proposal:

1.That you demonstrate a familiarity with the literature that would form the background to your study;
2.That you are able to refine/reduce your ideas into a coherent research question or series of research questions;
3.The your research question/questions is/are sufficiently precise and narrow to be realistically investigated in the depth that is required at Ph.D. level;
4.That your research question/questions have not been answered already by someone else, i.e. your Ph.D. will make a contribution that is entirely new and original to the area that you are interested in.